Salad: Diet Friend or Foe?

When people first try to start a diet, they seem to run to the grocery store and plan on eating the healthiest thing they can think of. A Salad. Though a Salad can be quite healthy and nutritious, we are getting drenched in Calories and Fat by all of the things we are adding to the Salad- which in turn makes our Healthy intentions for Lunch and Dinner…well…not so healthy after all. So if you are going to eat a salad to be Healthy, do it the right way!

The Salad Trap

A lot of people will add on one thing after another to their salad for added color, flavor, or texture, and I will go over exactly what that meanswhen it comes to calories in your Salad bowl.

Bacon Bits – serving size is about 1 tablespoon, and it is anywhere from 25-35 calories per serving.

Craisins – serving size is 1/3 cup, and the calories is about 140 calories. Not only is this high in calories, but high in Sugar which is not a healthy thing!

Croutons – The average serving size is about 0.5 oz, and the Calories is about 50 Calories

Cheese – If you go with 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese, you are looking at 240 calories. If you are trying to maintain a low calorie diet, Cheese is something you might want to try and avoid all together.

Salad Dressing – The average serving size is 1 tablespoon, and the calorie count is an average of  50 Calories. If you think about it, most people use way more than 1 tablespoon of dressing! Can you imagine how much you actually use, and how many calories you are putting on top of your Salad? It all adds up pretty quickly.

Healthy and Low Calorie  Salad toppers

Carrots – 1/2 cup chopped carrots is 26 calories

Peas – 1/2 cup of peas is 56 calories

Tomatoes – 1 cup cherry tomatoes is 27 calories

Cucumbers – 1 slice ( about 7 g) is 1 calorie

Mushrooms – 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms is 22 calories

So next time you are headed over to the Salad Bar, be sure to watch out for the Salad Traps, and think about what you are adding to your Salad Bowl.

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